Carbureter



G. E. B. WELLES.

CARBURETER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 19111.

6 S8 EE IN VEN TOR Y GE oRC-EZ'B'WELLES ATTORNEYS C. E. B. WELLES.

GARBURETER.

APPLICATION FILED sEPTJu, 1918.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

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G. E. B. WELLES.

CARBURETER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-1h 191B.

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'GARBURETER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1918.

1,358,686, Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

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UNITED STATES GEORGE B.-WELLES, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

oARBURE'rER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N 0v. 9, 1920.

Application filed September 11, 1918. Serial No. 253,514.

To all to ILOWL it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE E. B. WELLns, citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful C'arbureter, of which the following is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

T his invention relates to a carbureter of the type in which the fuel is heated before being taken into the explosion chamber of tbegas engine, the object being to make a perfect mixture of the fuel and air whereby the fuel will be completely burned to carbon dioxid, thereby preventing formation of carbon in the engine cylinders as 'well as increasing the power produced for a given amount of fuel.

The object of this invention is to produce a carbureter which will avoid the defects of maintaining a small. amount of the liquid fuel at a certain level adjacent an inlet valve or control opening of small dimensions for the passage of the fuel, which small opening is easily clogged and objectionable in many ways.

Another object of the invention is to produce a carburetor which will operate to supply the fuel to the incoming air withouthaving the incoming air draw it by suction from a needle valve at a high rate of speed, which necessarily brings the globules of the liquid into contact with the air, and some of which do not fully vaporize unless the fuel is of the highest grade.

in the present invention, the oil fuel is furnished to the incoming air in amounts varying with theenginespeed and independently of the air suction, The fuel supply well of the carburetor is further fed through a tube of adequate dimensions to prevent clogs ging at a speed greater" than the supply actually required, the surplusbeing returned to the main oil tank through suitable control valves and return pipes,- thereby making it possible to maintain the oil supply at any desired level.

Another object of the invention is to vaporize the fuel before bringing it into conact with the incoming air, theheat from the exhaust gases of the engine being used to heat a small body of the fuel in a suitable position from which the vapors escape to the air passing to the engine.

:inother object of the inventionistmeon- T" vert the fuel from its liquid state by evaporation and not by mere atomization to a IlCl'l dry gas by heat applied to the supply end of the carbureter after which it is mixed with the heated air and l to be exploded.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware that there may be modifications thereof.

Figure 1 shows an end elevation of a portion of anreight cylinder engine having this carbureter applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view the carbureter, i

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the carbureter,

through the lower portion being broken away "for convenience of illustration,

Fig. 4 is a View in side elevation of the supply end of the carbureter showing the supply pipe and surplus fuel return pipe with the levers for controlling the supply valves,

Fig. 5 is a view-in elevation of a portion of the carbureter shown in Fig. 4 lookingin the direction of the arrow on Fig. 4,

'Fig; 6 is a view illustrating the manner of controlling the supply ofair'to the carburoter, and a r i Fig. 7 is a transverse sectionalvicwiofitlie carbureter showing the air supply pipesland" the vanes for mixing the hot air "with the vaporized fuel.

The numerals 1, and 2 indicatetheicylinQY' der case of the engine; which cylinders are secured upon the base 3, and which cylinders. receive their explosive gases through the manifold 4; this manifold having a suitable" throttle valve 5; therein tofincrease or: dis

minish the supply of fuel to theien'gine asi may beireq-uired. t-i;

"The: crank shaft 6 paths engine has. the usual tuning gear 7 1n meshwlth the. cam,

shaft gear 8 which latter driVes theg'ear 9 for the operation of the ignitionapparatus,

not shown and forming no part'of the pres-a passed to the engine There is shown at 14 a pipe leading from one of the exhaust pipes 15 which supplies the carbureter with hot air, and from which another pipe 16 leads the used hot gases to any suitable piace of discharge. The carbureter is connected with the supply manifold by means of the flange 17 which is in turn secured to the fiange 18 of the engine manifold. Below the flange 17 there is a split casing formedofthe two parts 19 and 20, the latter of which has a bearing 21 for the shaft 13which operates the pump for maintaining the desired level of the liquid fuel. 7 Y

The casing formed by the two parts 19 and is annular in shape and there is a boss 22 on the shaft 13 which carries arms 23 and 24 with beater blades 25, 23 revoluble in said casing, the object of said blades being to thoroughly mix the air and fuel prior to its passage to the engine.

The side 19 of the casing in which the beater blades rotate has a casing 27 cast thereon which extends axially away from the beater casing, and-which supplies the airto the engine in'such quantities as may be required, holes 28 being provided for that p urposc, which holes are regulated by means .of the band 29 surrounding the back of the casing 27 or covering the holes 28 whenever necessary. The pipe 14 is connected by means of the flange 30 with the hot gas casing 31, andthe pipe 16 is connected by means of the flange 32 with the bottom of the hot gas casing 31. The hot gas casing has plurality of pipes leading from its periphery'to 'the'casing 34 within the casing 27, and said pipes have their outer ends covered or uncovered with a band 35 which has'holes to permit said pipes 33 to receive air when necessary.

z The bands'29 and 35 have arms 36 and attached thereto for their operation, see

Fig. 6, and said arms are in turn provided with the links 33, 39 connected to slotted levers 40, 40 respectively, the position of the links with respect to the lever being adjusted by means of the pivot pins 42, 43, W "h which said links-are secured to said le er so that the amount of opening of one band with respect to the other can be adjusted as' may be required; 7.

The bands are each made up of; two sections 29 and29", 35 and 35 secured together by means of the flanges Q9 and 35.

Within the shell 34'is another shell which has a series of openings therein to assist in mixing the incoming gai and air, and within this shell there are secured a. series of inclined vanes 46 to give the rotary motion tot-he atomized body of fuel fed to the air through the perforated drum 47 which-lies. within the cage formed by the pi .iity of vanes '46. The vanes are secured to and revolved by the spider 46" supported by the shaft 13, and they are also connected at their opposite ends to a i The drum 4'? is annular and surrounds the shaft 13 for portion of its length, and has '50, as to prevent any surge of liquid fuel from passing over into the pipe 48, such surge passing into the pipe 51 and back to the fuel reservoir.

At the back of the casing forming the heating chamber 31, there is a bearing for the shaft 13 and immediately in the rear of that is a bearing 54 for said shaft which has a packing gland 54 to prevent the escape of the fuel. The bearing is con nected with and forms a. part of the fuel well 55, which has the pipe 49 connected therewith, and which receives its fuel from the pipe 56, the excess fuel being returned to the tank through the pipe 57. There is an extension 57 of the pipe 57 which connects with the upwardly extending pipe and which pipe is provided with a butter fly valve 58, the purpose of which is to increase or diminish the level of the fuel in the pipe 49.

In order to further regulate the height of the fuel in the pipe 49 there is a butterfly valve 59 in the latter pipe which in con junction with the valve determines the amount of fuel subjected to the heat from the exhaust gases at any time. In this con-- nection, itis to be noted that the dotted lines 60 indicate the normal fuel level, 61 indicates the level of the fuel when runni under ordinary conditions, and 62 the level of the fuel when a still more rapid vaporiza tion thereof is required;

The shaft 13 is provided with a screw blade 63 which forms a. well known form of pumping apparatus, and in order that it be continually primed. the pipe 56 has a swinging check valve 64 therein,

Since .it is intended to operate this carbureter independently of the rate of suction of therengine and by the heat of the engine exhaust, it is necessary to provide means whereby the carbureter may be flooded with the fuel for starting purposes, and this accomplished by means of the smali valv 65 in the pipe 66 extending from the lower portion of the pipe 49 to the lower portion of the pipe 48. The valve 65 is operated by means of the lever 69 and the valves 58, 59. are operated by means of the levers C 0, 71 respectively, the position of these two levers and the valves with respect toeach other being determined by means of the set screw ?2 which is'carried by tne icver 71, and the end ofwhich screw contact; with the lever 70. i

The throttle valve casing 5 has a shaft 74 extending therethrough upon which the throttle valve 75 is mounted. This shaft is j ournaled in a bracket 76 and in bearings 77, 78 in the throttle valve casing. Secured on the end of the shaft 74 adjacent the throttle valve is a hub 7 9 which has a boss 80 thereon carrying a cam 81. This cam is placed on the boss in such a position as to engage the lever 82 when the throttle 75 is fully closed so that at that time said lever 82 (which is pivotally mounted on the bracket 83) will disengage the clutch 84 from the clutch 85, which is rigidly connected with the gear 12 thereby releasing the shaft 18. This sliding clutch 84 is connected to rotate with the shaft 13 although it may slide thereon, and the spring 86 causes it to normally engage the clutch 011 the face of the gear 12, a boss 87 carried by said shaft holding the spring 86 against the slidable clutch 84-.

The shaft 74 is also provided with a lever 88 which may be connected with any suitable linkage extending to the driversseat,

onto the engineers position, as may be required, for opening and closing the main throttle.

The operation of the carbureter is as fol: lows :-VVith the engine at rest and the carbureter cold, the fuel in the supply tank will stand at the level of the dotted lines 60.

Assuming the main throttle valve 75 to be closed it will be seen that the centrifugal beam 63 will be at a stand still even though the crank shaft is rotated by hand or other wise.

It is therefore necessary to open the valve 65 to permit a small quantity of the fuel, usually for this purpose a very light gasolene, which may be permitted to enter the casing 47 for starting purposes, and after a small quantity has been allowed to run into the drum 4C7, the valve 65 maybe closed.

The main throttle valve 75 is then partially opened, at which time the sliding clutch 84 will engage the clutch on the of the gear 12, thereby starting the pump upon the rotation of the said gear, and as the engine is started, the fan blades will thoroughly min the fuel with the incoming air. Of course at the time the throttle valve is partially opened, the other air supply openings are also partially opened, but the arrangement is such that at low throttle openings all of the air must betaken through the openings in the band 85, and therefore all of the air at low throttle openings must pass inside the casing 34 thereby insuring a rich mixture for starting purposes.

As soon as the engine starts, hot exhaust gases will pass through the chamber 31 and heat the fuel in the pipe 49. and the position of the two valves 58, v59 will base arranged as to keep the fuel supply at the proper level revoluble blades 46 will thoroughly mix it, i

with the air, and it will be again mixed when it passes into the casing 20 by the blades 25, 26, which are provided with suitable large openings to insure perfect mixing of the air and fuel vapor. Upon a further opening of the main throttle with increasing engine speed, the hot air ducts 33 will be, further opened and the band 29 will open the cold air supply to furnish the additional amount of air required for the greater on gine speed, the fuel in the meantime having been raisedfin the pipe 49 with the increased engine speed so that the additional heat applied thereto will cause more vapor to be given off therefrom.

Now, assuming the carbureter installed in an automobile, if the machine is going down a sullicient grade and the throttle closed, the fuel will run back into the tank because the pump 63 will be stopped and thereby prevent the formation of gas and loss of fuel. Upon the opening of the throttle, the pump is automatically started and the carburetor again begins to generate vapor.

The principal advantage of this carbureter lies in the fact that it maybe used for the purpose of vaporizing heavier fuels than are ordinarily used and its flexibility. in that fuels of different vaporizing qualities be used by it by simply altering the adjustment of the valves 58, 59 up to the capacity of the carburetor, which is determined bythe height of the pipe 419. d I

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire'to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as fol lows. express reservation being made ofpermissible modifications. i

1. In a carburetor, a fuel supply-and a fuel return pipe. means to heat a portion ofsaid pipe, means to elevate the fuel into the heated portion of said pipe, and a conduit for leading the vaporized fuel into the air chamber of the carburetor. i

2. In a oarbureter, a fuel supply and a fuel return pipe, ineans to heat said pipe; means to raise the fuel in said pipe into the heated portion thereof when the throttle valve is open and the engine running, a con duit leading from the heated pipe into the air inlet chamber to the carbureter, and me chanicalmeans to mix the vaporized? fuel and air prior to its being taken into the engine. r

3. In a carbureter, a fuel supply and a fuel return pipe, an inverted U-shaped pipe connected with said supply and return pipes, a pump for raising the fuel level in said inverted U-shaped pipe, valves foradjusting the level of the fuel in said pipes, a conduit leading from said pipes to the air inlet chamber of the carbureter, means to heat said pipes and the conduit leading to the air inlet to vaporize the fuel, and mechanical means for mixing the fuel and air prior to its being taken into the engine.

4. In a carbureter, a fuel supply and a fuel return pipe, an inverted U-shaped tube connecting said pipes, means to mechanically raise the levelof the fuel in said inverted U-shap'ed pipe when the throttle valve is open and the engine running, means to heat said inverted U-shaped pipe, a conduit leading therefrom through the heating chamber to the air inlet chamber, air inlet pipes extending through said heating chamber, means to increase or diminish the area of the air inlets, and means to mechanically mix the vaporized fuel and air prior to its inspiration into the engine. 1

5. In a carbureter, a fuel supply and a fuel return. pipe, an inverted U -shaped pipe connectingthe two, means to heat a portion of the latter pipe, a rotary pump for increasing the fuel level in the inverted U-shaped pipe, valves for adjusting the fuel level in said pipe, a conduit extending through the heating chamber from said pipe to the air inlet chamber, other pipes extending through the heating chamber and forming means for heating the incoming,

air, mechanical means for mixing the vapor and air, and otherauxiliarymeans for supplying additional air to the engine.

6. In a carbureter, an air inlet casing, a supply and return pipe connected with said casing, an inverted U-shapedtube connecting the two pipes, a heating chamber for heating a portionof said U-shaped'tube, a conduit leading therefrom through the heating chamber to the air inlet chamber, air inlet pipes extending through the heating chamber, and 'mechanical means for mixing the vaporized fuel with the air'prior to its inspiration into the engine.

7. In a carbureter, an air inlet casing, a

fuel supply and a fuel return pipe connected with said casing, an inverted U-shaped pipe connecting the two latter pipes, a centrifugal pump for increasing the fuel level in the inverted U-shaped pipe, valves for changing the level of the fuel in said pipe, a conduit extendingfrom the inverted U- shaped pipe into the air inlet chamber and terminating in a perforated drum, a smaller pipe connecting-the inlet conduit and sup ply pipe below the normal fuel level where-- by the liquid fuel may be turned into the air inlet chamber for starting purposes, and means to mechanically mix the air after passing into the carbureter.

8. In a carbureter, a casing, two sets of openings therein, pipes extending from one of said Openings to an interior casing, and a peripherally movable band adapted to increase or diminishthe supply of air that is permitted to pass to the engine.

9. In a carbureter, an air inlet casing, fuel supply and fuel return pipes extending thereto, an inverted U-shaped tube connecting the two pipes, a conduit extending therefrom into the air casing, a heater casing surrounding a portion of the U-shaped inlet casing, said conduit terminating in an annular perforated drum, and'mechanical means for mixing thevaporized fuel with the air upon its admission to the carbureter.

10. In a. carbureter, an air inlet casing, fuel supply and fuel returnpipes extending thereto, an inverted U-shaped tube connecting the two pipes, a pipe extending from said U-shaped tube to the air inlet casing, means to raise the level of the fuel in said inverted U-shaped tube when the engine is running and the throttle open, means to heat a portion of the U shaped pipe; a throttle valve and means whereby the fuel level will be reduced to an unheated portion of the U-shaped tube when the throttle is closed and the engine running.

ll. In a carbureter, an air inlet casing, fuei supply and fuel return pipes extending thereto, an inverted U-shaped tube connecting the two pipes, casing for heating said tube, a throttle valve, means to raise the level of the fuel in said tube to the heated portion thereofwhen the engine is running and the throttle open, a conduit extending from the inverted ill-shaped tube in the air inlet casing, mechanical means'for mixing the fuel vapor with the air,'air inlet pipes extending through the heater casing and into the air inlet casing, said air inlet casing having other openings for the admission of air and two partially movable bands for covering and uncovering the air inlet open-- said inverted U-shaped pipe when the engine is running and the throttle open, and means whereby the fuel level will be lowered when the throttle is closed.

13. In a carbureter, an air mixing chamber, a fuel supply'pipe, means to heat a portion of said pipe, a throttle valve, means to raise the fuel level to the heated portion of the fuel .pipe, means connected with the throttle whereby the fuel level will he raised when there is a demand for more fuel and lowered on a reduction in the fuel demand,

5 and a conduit for leading the vaporized fuel to the air mixing chamber.

, 14:. In a carhureter, an air mixing chain- 7 her, a fuel supply pipe, means to heat a portion of said pipe, a throttle valve, means 00- 10 ordinated with the throttle valve to raise the fuel level in the heated pipe as the de mand for fuel increases, a conduit for leading the vaporized fuel to the air mixing chamber, and mechanical means for further mixing the air and fuel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of June, A. D. 1918.

GEORGE E. B. WELLES. Witness:

WM. J. GowAN. 

